Virgil van Dijk says it's 'business as usual' at Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp's final season after shock announcement

Virgil van Dijk insists it's 'business as usual' at Liverpool as they bid to send Jurgen Klopp off on a big high.

The shock announcement of his decision to step down at the end of the season after a transformative nine-year spell at Anfield has sent ripples through the football community, leaving players and fans alike reeling from the news. Despite last season's underwhelming fifth-place finish and a summer of change within the squad, the Reds have bounced back, clinching the Carabao Cup and contending strongly in both the English Premier League and Europa League.

Van Dijk insists that the squad's drive is fuelled by the previous season's shortcomings, and their goals remain unchanged in light of Klopp's impending exit. Speaking as a newly announced ambassador for Expedia, Van Dijk commented on the squad's reaction: "It is business as usual. I said it the day after it got announced that obviously it was a bit of a shock like it was for all of the Liverpool fans and even non-Liverpool fans, like it was for us. But what he wants for us is also the same. We have targets to go for and they didn't change.", reports the Mirror.

"We started this process in the summer after we had a disappointing year, and we want to make things right. Not only for the manager but for ourselves as well. We all have pride and we all knew that we could do a lot better than we did last year and that's what we have been showing since day one in pre-season, and let's see what it brings."

Despite their determination, Liverpool will feel the absence of Klopp deeply, with the majority of the squad, except Joe Gomez, having been signed or promoted by the German.

Van Dijk continued: "I've always had a very good relationship with him since day one. We've